


BLUE ROSE | B.C. + Y.JI.

by breadotaku



Series: TWISTED TALES [skiz fairy tale collection] [1]
Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Cinderella Fusion, Bang Chan is Whipped, Happy Ending, I didn't even realize, I'm so sorry, M/M, They're both soft, basically a book to show my pure unfiltered love for this ship, chan jeongin and woojin are the only actual people, especially changbin, everyone else are jeongin's animal friends, i did the rest of skiz so dirty lmao, i love flower language, in every book i make chan crashes into someone, it's so pure, jeongchan, jeongin is a flower shop worker, jeongin is cinderella, just fluff, lmaooo, yes i made bin a mouse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-11
Updated: 2019-04-13
Packaged: 2019-10-26 00:07:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17735249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/breadotaku/pseuds/breadotaku
Summary: ❝ i always thought that blue roses represented something unattainable. something you can never have. something like... ❞❝ me? ❞➥ the pure, sweet love story of a peasant boy who isforced to run his stepmother's flower shop every day,and a mysterious customer who likes to visit him.➥ (or, a cinderella au, but cinderella is a guy, the fairygodmother is a godfather, and a majority of stray kidshave been turned into animals.)➥ A JEONGCHAN FIC.➥ lowercase intended.➥ chapter lengths vary!





	1. DAFFODIL

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> book number three that i crossposted lol. i really wish i could put the pictures of the flowers in the chapter but it's okay ^^;; 
> 
> this is the first upload of my "TWISTED TALES" series which is a stray kids collection of fairy tales that i put my own spin on! none of the stories relate to each other so you can read them out of order if you'd like to. they're all ship books because (as you probably guessed) my account is just a gay trash dump lmao

**THE FIRST TIME THEY MET WAS PURELY AN ACCIDENT. OR WAS IT FATE?**

jeongin couldn't have staged it better if he tried. one moment he was running through the cobbled streets of his kingdom, beryl; the next, he was flying backward, the brown bags in his hands tumbling to the ground.

"ah..." the boy winced, sitting up and rubbing his head. beneath his strands of dark hair, he could feel a sticky substance beginning to slide down the back of his head.  _blood_. he groaned and rose from his spot where he was previously splayed on the ground, and turned to glare at the person who crashed into him. instead, he came face-to-chest with a horse.

"oh my god!" a voice sounded, and for a moment jeongin thought that this might be a talking horse (which wouldn't be the strangest thing he'd seen in the kingdom) until he realized that the voice was coming from a man who was seated on top of the horse.  _now **that**  makes much more sense,_ he thought.

the man jumped down, causing jeongin to take a step backward. he wasn't in the mood to get knocked down twice in a row,  _especially_  not when he had places to be. "my name is christopher, and i'm terribly sorry for nearly running you over. are you alright? is there anything i can do for you?" he reached out a gloved hand tentatively as if he were afraid that the boy before him would bite it off.

and if he had the opportunity, jeongin would've. he was quite irritated, and this entire situation wasn't improving his mood. it was odd for him— usually, he was able to keep  _some_  sort of positive mindset— but today he just wasn't having it. his stepmother woke him at four— an hour earlier than usual— to scrub the floors in the mansion; then, at six, he had to tend to the chickens and clean their coop; at seven-thirty, he had to wash his stepsisters' clothes (which, at this point, he was sure that they were throwing clean dresses into their laundry piles just to give him more things to do); and now, at eight forty-five, he had to deliver five bouquets to people in the city because his stepmother didn't want to, even though it was  _her_  responsibility, not his. so maybe it was because of his lack of sleep or the never-ending chores or being fed up with everything at the moment that caused the nineteen-year-old to respond rather snappily.

"yeah, you can get out of my way and maybe try looking where you're going next time." a small part of him regret it when christopher flinched, his previously outstretched hand retracting ever so slightly, his apologetic look turning to one of hurt. but jeongin was too focused on picking up the fallen bags of flowers to care and angrily rushed past, not wanting to stay there any longer. however, in his haste, one of the bouquets fell out of the bag without him realizing it.

"wait!" christopher called, picking up the flowers. "you forgot..." his voice trailed off when the other boy disappeared from his sight. he sighed, feeling a mixture of sadness and guilt, and fixated his dark brown eyes on the neatly wrapped bouquet.

**"daffodils, huh? _new beginnings..._ "**

 


	2. HYACINTH

**THE SECOND TIME THEY MET WASN'T QUITE A MEETING.**

it was early the next morning when jeongin's stepmother woke him again.

"yang jeongin," she screeched at the doorway, causing the boy to sit up in a flash,  _"wake up!_  you've been asleep for far too long! you could have sold many bouquets by now if you weren't such a lazy boy!"

jeongin glanced up at his stepmother in confusion. "but miss, it's tuesday. you usually give me tuesdays off—"

"who said you could talk back to me, boy?" the woman hissed, and jeongin drew back into his covers. "i expect you to be in the shop in precisely  _thirty minutes_ or else there will be no dinner for you when you return!" and with that she left in a flourish, her elegant maroon dress trailing behind her.

jeongin sighed and flopped back down onto his springy mattress. blinking the sleep out of his eyes, he noticed a small mouse scurrying down the wall and coming to a stop on his bedside table. the mouse gave a small squeak, making jeongin smile a bit.

"hi there, changbin," he said, and scratched the mouse's sharp chin. "i know you want to play, but i can't today. i have to hurry and get to the shop."

changbin squeaked again and tilted its head. "no,i haven't eaten yet. i just woke up." jeongin placed a hand on his empty stomach forlornly and frowned. "but making breakfast will take too long, so i've got to skip it."

changbin gave him a disapproving look. "yes, i know it's not good for me, but i've got to get going!" jeongin rose and hurriedly began to dress. "if you can find some way for me to get a bite to eat in the next minute, i won't skip. okay?"

the mouse stood there for a moment before letting out a high-pitched whistle. jeongin was about to tell him to be quiet when he heard leaves rustling. suddenly, a bluebird carrying a handkerchief flew into his room, a squirrel triumphantly riding on its back. through the window also came an orange-striped cat who leapt into the room from a tree branch, a separate handkerchief being held in its mouth. and just when jeongin thought it was over, a small black and white dog skidded into the room from the open door,  _another_  cloth gingerly held between its teeth. jeongin watched, wide-eyed, as each animal set down the small bundles and opened them up to reveal small pieces of biscuit, toast, and cheese.

all the animals looked up at jeongin expectantly. the boy stared at the morsels of food, jaw dropped, before breaking out into a huge smile. "thank you so much, you guys!" he squealed, and an array of happy animal noises bounced off the walls. he gathered up the breakfast, patted each animal on the head, and ran out the door, radiating happiness from the kind actions of his friends.

he got to the stables behind the mansion in record time, calling out, "minho! minho, where are you?" he found the brown stallion sleeping peacefully, and instantly felt bad— he didn't wish to wake him, but at the same time, he  _needed_  to get to the shop. "minho," he whispered, tapping the horse's back. "it's time to get up. miss tremaine is making us go to the shop today. we've got to get going." when the being  _still_  wouldn't open its eyes, jeongin frowned. "alright, now i know you're just ignoring me. come on, buddy." he grabbed the saddle that was laying on the ground and tossed it onto the horse's back. this unexpected action caused minho's eyes to shoot open, and he whipped his head around to shoot an unamused look at jeongin, who was climbing onto his back.

"don't give me that look," jeongin said, to which minho neighed in annoyance. "oh, please, don't even complain. it's what you get for trying to feign sleep. now, if you want a treat later on, i suggest you get going." minho huffed but complied, quickly trotting out of the estate and in the direction of miss tremaine's flower shop.

 

**❁❁❁  
**

 

"hold on, minho!" jeongin yelled as he entered the shop from the back where he had tied up the horse. "i promise i'll find you a treat, i just—" he paused when he saw something lying outside the front door.  _what's that?_

opening the door, he found that it was a bouquet of hyacinths with a note tucked in it. beside it was a bouquet of daffodils, which jeongin recognized as the ones he had lost the previous day. the note read:

 

_**dear stranger,** _

_**we met yesterday, but it wasn't the best meeting, was it? running someone over with your horse is never the best first impression to make upon someone, and i sincerely apologize for that. i noticed that you had flowers, so i asked around and found out that you ran this shop. a young lad told me you didn't work on tuesdays, though, so i decided to leave these here for you in hopes that you might receive them tomorrow. again, i am very sorry for any inconvenience i might have caused— you seemed to be in quite the rush when we met, so i hope that you made it to where you needed to be. my actions were quite rude and ungentlemanly, so please, at least accept my apology gift. i'm sure you know what they mean.** _

_**best wishes,** _

_**christopher** _

**_(by the way, you dropped these daffodils.)_ **

 

 _oh,_ jeongin thought,  _this is from the man that crashed into me yesterday!_ he was immediately reminded of how poorly he treated the kind man and felt ashamed of his actions. although it was technically christopher's fault, he seemed genuinely apologetic, but jeongin had just brushed it off and acted bitter towards him. he smiled a bit at the bouquet in his hands— it was evident that an amateur had made it, but it was also clear that whoever it was had tried their absolute best on it. 

 _i'm sure you know what they mean._  "well, of course," jeongin spoke to no one in particular.  **"hyacinths: an apology for a wrong committed."**  he smiled slightly. "yeah, apology accepted."

 

from where he was hiding behind the corner of the flower shop, christopher grinned and silently slipped away.

 


	3. TULIP

**THE THIRD TIME THEY MET WAS THE BEGINNING OF EVERYTHING THAT WOULD FOLLOW.**

"please come again!" jeongin called to a woman who was exiting the shop. upon hearing the small bell that signalled her departure, he sighed and dropped the polite smile that he used whenever customers were present and slumped onto his desk. it was wednesday, and that was always the busiest day of the week. as soon as he unlocked the shop early that morning, people swarmed inside, eager to look at the new buds that were in stock. tuesday nights were when miss tremaine received new shipments of flowers and seeds, which is why she usually worked on those days, but because jeongin had to work instead, he had to unload and restock everything in the shop. he was, quite frankly, exhausted, and wanted nothing more than to just go home.

the bell jangled, indicating a new customer had entered, and jeongin shot up. blushing in embarrassment since he was caught looking unprofessional, he stuttered, "w-welcome to tremaine blossoms! my name is yang jeongin. how may i..." he trailed off when the customer removed the hood of the indigo cloak he was wearing. "ah! you're—"

the customer— or rather,  _christopher_ — grinned, and jeongin caught a glimpse of dimples. "the man who ran you over a couple days ago? yeah, that's me."

jeongin gasped and immediately rushed over to his side. bowing deeply, he said, "i got your letter and the flowers! if anything, it's  _me_  who needs to apologize for treating you so rudely that day! i'm very sorry!"

christopher chuckled. "please don't bow! it makes me feel like i'm higher than you or something. and don't worry about it, kid, i probably would've reacted the same way as you."

rising, jeongin pouted slightly. "i'm not a kid! i'm nineteen!"

chirstopher's smile grew into a teasing one. "oh? i thought you were nine." that earned him a whack on the arm, and he managed to choke out an apology in between his laughs. jeongin couldn't help but giggle a bit as well and gave christopher a broad smile, showing off his prominent dimples and clear braces.

"so, what brings you here, christopher?" he asked, returning to his spot behind the desk. "are you looking for a specific plant? a flower for someone? maybe some seeds to start a garden?"

christopher ran his fingers through his blonde hair and leaned his elbows on the desk. "nope. i was just looking for you." then he gave a cheeky grin, complete with a cute eye smile.

jeongin turned around and pretended to rearrange the blossoms behind him when in reality he was trying (and failing) to hide the redness that spread across his face. "o-oh, well, that's nice of you. but—" he faced the other again when he was sure he looked presentable— "are you sure you wouldn't like anything? we just got a new shipment yesterday, and there are a few things we have a surplus of that i'd like to get rid of before they begin to wilt."

straightening up, christopher shrugged. "sure. i wouldn't mind taking something home with me." he picked up a few succulents and eyed them. "all of these things are super cute. did you design the pots and do the wrapping yourself?"

"yep!" the boy smiled and picked up a small booklet from a pile on the desk. handing it to christopher, he said, "take this. it's a guide that has every flower meaning in it known to man. if you ever need to buy someone a flower that means something special, this will help you out. although," he added, "judging from your letter, it seems you're already familiar with the meanings of some."

christopher laughed. "well, i had to get some help with that from my gardener."

jeongin raised an eyebrow. "you have a personal gardener?"  _wow, he must be rich..._

he received a frantic shake of the head in return. "no, no! i meant to say  _a_  gardener, not  _my_  gardener. i'm not  _that_  wealthy." he chuckled nervously, which was a bit odd to jeongin, but he brushed it off as a simple slip of the tongue.

"i see. well—" he was cut off when the bell rang again, and a young couple entered the shop. "ah! welcome to tremaine blossoms! my name is yang jeongin. how may i help you?" he quickly faced christopher, who had put his hood back on. "i'm so sorry, but i have to attend to them..." a look of guilt took over his features, and christopher frowned. he didn't like seeing jeongin sad. it didn't suit him.

"don't worry! it's about time for me to get going anyway." he turned and began to make his way to the exit, keeping his head down as he passed the couple. but, to his surprise, he heard a voice calling out, "christopher! wait!"

he turned to see that jeongin had run up to him, a bouquet in his hands. "i nearly forgot to give these to you! they're white tulips. you can look up their meaning later." the woman at the desk called for him, and he turned his head, yelling back, "coming!" and promptly pushed christopher out the door. before he went to tend to the couple, he smiled widely to the blonde and waved. "bye, christopher! come again soon!" and in a flash he was gone, leaving the other boy out on the street, a bundle of blossoms in hand.

 _white tulips?_  he thought to himself and opened up the small pamphlet jeongin had given him earlier. he flipped through it until he found what he was looking for and immediately broke into a huge smile.

 **"white tulips: forgiveness.**  i guess my apology  _was_  accepted."


	4. PLUM BLOSSOM

**THE FOURTH TIME THEY MET, A PROMISE WAS MADE.**

jeongin was, quite frankly, tired. it was another early morning where his stepmother forced him to complete all sorts of tasks, so by the time he got to the shop he was ready to just curl up into a ball and sleep the day away. 

ever since his father passed away a year and a half ago, it seemed like all the light in his life was gone. jeongin's father was the only person who truly cared for him, and when he married miss tremaine, jeongin thought that someone else would care for him too. but he was sorely mistaken. when mister yang died, miss tremaine's true colours shined through as a woman who cared nothing for the boy and was only focused on the well-being of her and her two daughters.

the only friends the boy had were the animals that lived around the estate: a small, sharp-chinned mouse named changbin; a chubby-faced squirrel named jisung; a bluebird with the voice of an angel named seungmin; a brown and white dog named hyunjin (who the tremaines called "kkami", but jeongin found out that that wasn't his real name); an energetic orange cat with small spots named felix; and the tremaines' horse, a sleek stallion named minho. jeongin was able to befriend them because he was born with the gift of understanding animal speech, something he was grateful to have when he had no one to talk to. but still, it could get rather lonely, and sometimes all jeongin wanted was an actual human friend— one that he could do human things with. one that would light up his sad, pitiful life.

jeongin was organizing boxes in the back of the shop when the bell jangled in the front. dusting off his beige apron, he walked into view of the customer. "hello, welcome to tre— christopher!"

the man grinned, his dimples shining through. "hello, jeongin. i'm back!"

jeongin beamed and ran towards the taller man. engulfing him in a giant hug, he said, "i didn't think i'd ever see you again! what brings you here?"

christopher playfully ruffled his dark hair. "do i need a reason to visit my favourite shopkeeper?"

hearing those words made jeongin feel warm inside. he wasn't sure why— maybe it was because he called him his favourite shopkeeper or maybe it was because he showed up at the shop again even though he didn't have any reason to— but something about christopher made jeongin's heart swell with joy. it was probably because it had been so long since a person had shown any sort of care to him, so when the blonde had shown up, a tiny hole in jeongin's life had begun to fill itself unconsciously. all he could hope for was that it wouldn't be torn open again.

pulling away from the hug, christopher said, "i couldn't help but notice that you looked a bit...ah..." he gently touched the dark circles beneath the boy's eyes, and jeongin knew precisely what he was talking about.

"yeah, i know," he laughed, although it was more lackluster than usual. "i haven't been getting much sleep lately since my stepmother works me to the bone, so i haven't had much time to myself..."

christopher frowned. "that's not good. why don't you ask her for a break? i'm sure she can find someone else to run the shop, no?"

jeongin shook his head, which caused christopher's frown to deepen. "now, we can't have that," he said, and tugged on the sleeve of jeongin's white button-up. "come on, close up the shop. we're going to go have some fun."

jeongin's eyes widened.  _christopher wants to go do something? with **me**?_ "no, no, it's alright," he stuttered, "i don't want to cause you any trouble."

"it's no trouble at all, jeongin. you shouldn't have to be cooped up in this shop working all day while you're still young! i want you to live a little!"

jeongin hesitated. one one hand, he  _really_  wanted to just close up the flower store and spend the day with christopher. on the other hand, he knew that he'd be doomed if miss tremaine got wind of it. he was never a risk-taker to begin with, so even though it pained him, he knew he had to play it safe.

"i'm truly sorry, christopher," he said, sadness tainting his voice, "but i mustn't. it's not that i don't want to spend time with you— i really do— but if my stepmother finds out that i left the shop, i'd be dead quicker than you can say 'chrysanthemum'. maybe another time, when i have a break or something."

the dejected look on christopher's face was almost enough to make jeongin change his mind, but before he could say anything, the taller boy nodded solemnly. "okay. but!" he held out his pinky towards jeongin. "you have to pinky promise me that one of these days you will let me take you somewhere so we can have fun. okay?"

jeongin giggled a bit at the childish action, but complied nonetheless and hooked a pale finger around christopher's. "i promise."

the taller smiled widely and turned to leave the shop when something caught his eye. "what flower is this?" he asked, gesturing towards a basket that held numerous small, pink blossoms. "i've never seen one like this before."

"ah, those are plum blossoms," jeongin answered, walking over to stand next to christopher. "they only grow in the jade kingdom, not here in beryl. they're quite tricky to get your hands on, but they're rather popular with the townsfolk."

christopher hummed in approval. "they are rather quaint little things. do you know what they mean?"

jeongin nodded. "it can represent perseverance, hope, or—" he paused— "a promise."

christopher smirked a bit. picking up one of the blossoms, he turned to jeongin and gently tucked it behind the boy's ear, leaving his hand there for just a second too long to be considered casual before pulling away.  **"plum blossoms: a promise.**  well then, it's rather fitting for the two of us, isn't it?"


	5. ROSE (1)

**THE FIFTH TIME THEY MET,** **SOMETHING WAS CONFIRMED** **.**

jeongin couldn't remember a time in his life where he had laughed as hard as he was right now. christopher had shown up at the shop early in the morning and had stayed with him the entire day, only leaving at noon to get the two of them lunch. jeongin had insisted that he was fine (he was used to going without meals), but christopher had returned nonetheless with an array of food in his arms. jeongin thanked him profusely the entire time they ate, tears in his eyes from how good everything tasted. christopher simply laughed and waved it off, saying that it was no trouble at all.

now it was nearing four 'o clock, and jeongin was having the time of his life. the pair were redecorating the shop, moving baskets and setting out new flowers, when christopher had begun telling jeongin a variety of jokes to pass the time. all of them were cheesy and made jeongin cringe, but there was something about the male that made everything he said the funniest thing in the world.

"jeongin, tell me a knock-knock joke," christopher gasped out in between laughs.

jeongin grinned. "okay. um... knock knock?"

"come in."

it was silent for a moment before both males burst into laughter once more. "chris," jeongin giggled, "you're too much, i swear!"

christopher suddenly stopped chuckling and stared at jeongin wide-eyed. the florist took note of his silence and looked at him confusedly. "what? what's wrong?"

christopher shook his head. "no, it's nothing, but... you called me  _chris."_

jeongin blushed. "ah! my apologies, christopher. it must have been a slip of tongue."

christopher shook his head again and smiled shyly. "no, you misunderstand. i... i liked it. i think it's cute."

if jeongin wasn't red before, he sure was now.  _he thinks that it's cute!_  "o-okay... chris." the name rolled off his tongue as if it were second nature. it was sort of fun to say, and jeongin had to admit that the other male was right: it  _did_  sound pretty cute. "chris. chris. chris."

christopher had to refrain himself from engulfing the younger boy into a hug because the more he said his new nickname, the cuter he became. he distracted himself by fiddling with the air plants, but there was no way to hide his bright smile, and jeongin noticed (much to the boy's delight).

it was quiet for a while longer, the two of them deep in thought. chris was trying to figure out more ways to get the younger boy to smile (not knowing that him simply being there was enough), while jeongin's mind was occupied by something else.

"hey... chris?" he asked timidly. the blonde turned his head, humming in response. "are we... um... never mind!" he quickly spun around and buried his face in a bouquet to hide his embarrassment. rising from the flowers, he stared at them for a couple seconds longer, a realization striking him.

he faced chris again. "actually..." the older boy returned his gaze to jeongin once more. "i have a question that i've wanted to ask for a couple of days now. um..." he took a deep breath.  _don't back out now, jeongin!_  "are we... are we friends?"

it seemed like the only thing that could be heard was the sound of jeongin's heartbeat ringing wildly in his ears as he awaited the blonde's response. it felt like an eternity before chris finally opened his mouth, and jeongin was mentally on the edge of his seat waiting to hear what he had to say.

"wait," he said, "have you been worrying about this the entire time?"

jeongin gave him a timid half-smile. "kind of?"

it surprised him when christopher let out a hearty laugh and bounded over to him. he promptly wrapped jeongin in a tight squeeze and ruffled his dark mop of hair. "of course we're friends, jeongin! why else do you think i come over here every day?"

"...that's a very good point." jeongin smiled, dimples on full display and chris beamed at the sight (which caused jeongin's heart to melt). 

neither one realized what an effect they had on each other, and they wouldn't for quite a while. the two of them were a tad bit oblivious, after all.

"well," jeongin said, breaking away from the warmth of chris' embrace, "i guess i can give you this now!" he plucked a flower from the bouquet he had stuffed his face in earlier and presented it to chris with overexaggerated flourish. "to you, my dear  _friend,_ i present a single yellow rose. do you know what they mean?"

chris pretended to think. "well, i'll have you know that i've been studying up on my flower language recently, so i think i have an idea." his eyes twinkled playfully and jeongin thought that it was impossible for his smile to grow any bigger. " **yellow roses symbolize friendship** , don't they?"

jeongin giggled. "that's right!" he handed the flower to chris, who twirled it between his fingers. "this is a very special moment. do you know why?"

chris gave him a confused look. "why?"

"it's because you're my very first friend."

a pale pink colour dusted chris' face as his eyes widened in surprise, but his surprise turned to pure happiness in an instant. "well, jeongin," he said, his voice failing to conceal the amount of joy he felt, "i'm honoured to be your first."


	6. CARNATION

**THE** **SIXTH** **TIME** **THEY** **MET,**   **A** **GIFT** **WAS** **GIVEN.**

 

it was a slow saturday, which jeongin was immensely grateful for as that meant that he got to focus on a very important project he was working on. working in a flower shop every day meant that he had become very familiar with blossoms of every type, and as the years went by, jeongin grew bored of simply observing them. thus, his desire to create art bloomed. he sketched, painted, and made collages of various flowers in the store (of course, he never told his stepmother that he did that last one), and it brought him great joy to do so. he wasn't the best artist but he found the activity fun nonetheless. it filled up the rare moments of boredom that he had the luxury of experiencing once in a while and made him feel less lonely when he didn't have his animal friends to keep him company while he worked.

 

now, though, he had christopher to fill that empty place, something he was very happy about. he had come to the shop three days in a row and the past two times he hadn't left until it was closing time. even though they had only met less than a week ago, the amount of time they had spent together made it feel like they had known each other for much longer than that. so, as soon as he arrived at the shop early that saturday morning, jeongin went to work on a new project. one for his new friend.

 

the bell jingled and jeongin's head whipped up to see christopher shutting the door, his back to him. frantically, the male ripped the canvas he had been painting on off of its easel and shoved it under the table. when he arose, he saw chris about to face him, so in a panic, he yelled, "wait!" chris froze mid-turn, and jeongin took that opportunity to haphazardly toss his paints under the table next to his painting and kicked the easel out of view behind some plants. unfortunately, it fell onto the ground with a loud clatter, and jeongin winced at the noise.

 

christopher's head snapped towards him. "what was that? are you okay?" he asked worriedly.

 

jeongin laughed nervously. "i'm fine! i just had to clean up some...stuff."

 

chris cocked an eyebrow with a slightly suspicious look but his face quickly melted into a soft smile. "well, alright then." he took a seat on a stool that jeongin had set out for him in front of the table and flashed him a bright grin. "so, are you going to tell me what you were painting, or...?"

 

jeongin gaped. "you saw that?" he asked, red creeping up his neck.

 

chris nodded with a hearty laugh. "you're not very good at hiding things, jeongin. i can clearly see all of your things under the table. also, i saw your paints before you hid them, but i turned back around because i didn't know if it was okay for me to see it." he gave jeongin a questioning look. "is it?"

 

"um... well, it was actually supposed to be a surprise," jeongin admitted reluctantly, "but since it's not really a surprise anymore, i guess i can show you." he bent down and picked up the canvas, saying, "don't laugh, okay? i'm not the best artist and it's not finished yet, so..." he trailed off a bit before turning it around to present to the male across from him. "voila. here it is."

 

chris' eyes widened. on the white canvas before him lay a beautifully painted flower, its petals ranging in colour from white to red to a much deeper, darker shade of red. the stem twisted and curled like a vine, creating a border around the edge of the painting and framing the flower in the middle. christopher was mesmerized by how lifelike the petals looked; he could practically see how soft they were, their fragility radiating off of the canvas in waves. he could tell that jeongin wasn't quite finished painting the background; still, it was beautiful nonetheless.

 

"wow," chris breathed out. "jeongin, this is _amazing_."

 

the younger male dipped his head slightly, trying to conceal the large smile that appeared on his face from his friend's words. "it's really not that good, but i'm glad you like it."

 

chris shook his head. "no, it's absolutely stunning. what flower is it?"

 

"a carnation." jeongin pointed at the different petals, explaining, "each coloured petal has a different meaning. white for good luck, red for admiration, and dark red for...um... friendly affection." he dropped his gaze to his lap shyly. "i wanted to give it to you as thanks for being my first friend."

 

chris' heart nearly melted at jeongin's words. "jeongin, this is the best gift anyone has ever given me," he said sincerely, going around the table to wrap the other male in a large hug. "thank you so much. seriously."

 

jeongin thought his face was going to combust from how red it was. _what did i ever do to deserve a friend like him?_

 

❁❁❁

 

jeongin waved at christopher's retreating form as he left the shop at closing time, the (now completed) painting in his arms. he let out a quiet sigh before turning to untie minho from his post.

 

"minnie, was it really a good idea?" he asked the horse, who just sent him a questioning look in response. "i was debating whether or not to do a carnation because i didn't want to give chris the wrong idea. i didn't want to make him uncomfortable or anything like that."

 

minho let out a huff that showed he had no idea what the boy was talking about. "well, carnations can have quite a few meanings," jeongin explained, "and if you're well-versed in flower language, receiving one is like getting a confession— especially if they're dark red— because **those carnations represent deep love.** i didn't tell him that, though, because i'm not in love with him or anything. after all, we've only just met! that's ridiculous!" he let out a small chuckle. "it's not possible for someone to fall in love so quickly, and especially not with someone as kind, caring, and all-around amazing as christopher. not in a million years."

 

minho didn't miss the dreamlike look that appeared in jeongin's eyes, prompting him to snort. _yeah, right. you look more lovesick than hyunjin when he sees a mirror._  

 

jeongin hit him on the shoulder. "i do not!" he cried in embarrassment. the two bickered all the way back to the mansion, and while it distracted jeongin for a short while, he couldn't stop thinking about the smile chris gave him when he handed him the finished painting. he replayed it over and over in his mind, letting it carry him all the way through his nightly chores and into bed. and even as he fell asleep, the memory of the blonde man with the most beautiful smile jeongin had ever seen in his life followed him into his dreams and made his cold, thin bedsheets feel just a little warmer.

 

_is this what having a friend feels like?_


	7. ALSTROEMERIA

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (shameless self-promo) FOLLOW MY INSTAGRAM @ breadxtaku FOR FUN & RAD STUFF HAHA

**THE SEVENTH TIME THEY MET, SOME FRIENDS CAME ALONG.**

"he's absolutely wonderful!" jeongin gushed early that sunday morning to tiny changbin, who was seated on the windowsill eating a crumb. "he makes working at the shop so much better. i don't even dread waking up early because i get to see him!"

changbin gave a couple of squeaks. "no, he's not stealing anything. i take inventory every day, remember? besides, i'm not going to let anyone take advantage of my kindness. stepmother will have my head if i do."

 _squeak squeak._  "he's very kind, i assure you. i think you would like him a lot."

 _squeak?_ "yes, really. if you don't believe me, why don't you come along and meet him?"

_squeak!_

and that's how yang jeongin ended up riding to tremaine blossoms with changbin hanging on for dear life onto minho's tail.

"is it just me or did you go a lot faster today?" jeongin asked, hopping off of minho and patting him on the head after they had arrived. he failed to notice the sharp glare that changbin sent towards the horse and the humorous look he received in return. "well, i think that after all that running you deserve a treat, don't you?"

minho neighed and jeongin gave him a questioning look. "what? last i checked i weighed the same as usual. what do you mean i felt heavier?"

the stallion glanced over his shoulder and eyed the knapsack that was securely tied onto his saddle. jeongin stared at it for a moment. "i don't get it. what—"

suddenly, a fluffy black-and-white head poked itself out of the leather bag, looking around nervously. an orange striped head joined it and made a strangled noise when it locked eyes with jeongin, quickly ducking down afterward. a brown ball of fur rocketed out of the bag, an ungodly caw following it, and promptly collided with jeongin's torso before falling to the ground with a screech. looking down, jeongin found that it was none other than jisung, his hyperactive squirrel friend. he gingerly picked him up, thinking,  _what is jisung doing all the way out here? usually, he just stays in the yard of the mansion._

walking over to his knapsack, he found (much to his surprise) that he had three other stowaways in his bag: hyunjin, the tremaine's family dog; felix, the stray cat that always ended up inside; and seungmin, the bluebird that often sang him to sleep.

"no wonder minho thought i was heavier! he was carrying you lot!" jeongin giggled. "what are you all doing here?"

seungmin shook his ruffled feathers and sent an annoyed look towards jisung before giving jeongin a few chirps in response to his question. "changbin told you about christopher and you all wanted to meet him?" the four animals nodded profusely. "well, why didn't you say so? i would've been happy to take you all!" he beamed and his animal friends were momentarily blinded by his purity. "now let's get minho to the back and we can all go inside and wait for him to arrive."

once they got the horse in the back, jeongin and his friends passed the time by arranging bouquets and playing around. one thing that he loved was singing with seungmin so the two of them entertained the others with a playful trot-styled song. the cheers he got from the animals were loud and lively and were enough to block out the sound of the little silver bell that jingled when the door opened.

his friends suddenly quieted and scrambled away with fearful eyes.  _what? what's going on?_ jeongin thought confusedly and made a move to turn around.

suddenly, someone slid their arms around his waist, causing him to jump and scream. he whipped around, heart racing, to find a familiar head of blonde hair doubled over and laughing his cloak off.

"chris!" jeongin covered his face embarrassedly. "you scared me! i can't believe you!"

the male continued to laugh, little crinkles around his eyes signifying his genuine joy. "i'm sorry!" he gasped out. "i couldn't help myself. you looked so cute and happy when you were singing to those animals, so i just had the urge to hug you." he peered around jeongin, who was blushing profusely.  _he called me cute!_  "too bad those little ones are gone. i thought they were quite adorable themselves."

jeongin removed his hands from his face at the mention of his animal friends. "oh! that reminds me!" he turned around and beckoned them to come forth. they did, albeit hesitantly. "chris, i'd like you to meet my friends. well, i mean," he stammered shyly, "my nonhuman friends since you're my only friend who is, you know, an actual person. i know, it's a bit strange— and lonely— to befriend animals and not people, but i have an odd condition where i can understand them and i've found that the lot of them are quite lovely and i enjoy their company and they care for me a lot and i know it's weird but—"

"jeongin!" chris stopped him mid-ramble, an amused smile gracing his lips. "they sound wonderful. may i meet them?"

jeongin nodded. with burning cheeks, he waved his friends forward, and they moved in front of him shyly. well, except for felix, who bounded forward eagerly and rubbed against chris' legs. the blonde chuckled as he reached down to rub the cat in between its ears. "well, this one is friendly."

"that one is felix." the orange tabby meowed, causing jeongin to smile. "he said that he likes you a lot. wow, chris, stealing my friends already?"

chris grinned and scooped the purring cat into his arms. "maybe. who's next?"

they went down the line, jeongin introducing all of his animal friends (even minho, who was behind the shop) and taking note of the positive reactions the creatures gave. even changbin, the most skeptical of them all, ended up liking the man in no time at all. it wasn't hard to see why; christopher was quite charming. he was also rather handsome.

 _alright, he's a keeper_ , changbin squeaked from his spot on the table next to jeongin. the two of them were watching chris struggle to catch the rest of the animals as they ran through his legs, climbed up his torso, and (in seungmin's case) attempted to nest in his hair. although he felt a bit bad that his friends were being chaotic, jeongin couldn't deny that the sight in itself was quite amusing.

"see? what did i tell you?" the raven-haired boy said, scratching him under his abnormally sharp chin. "he's an amazing person. i'm really glad you all like him as much as i do."

changbin nodded, watching how seungmin flew off and returned with a flower in his beak. he dropped it, the blossom slowly fluttering down until it gently landed in chris' hands. he looked down at it, confusion gracing his features, and he locked gazes with jeongin. "what's this?"

jeongin's eyes lit up. "seungmin gave you an alstroemeria!  **those flowers are representative of friendship.** " he beamed, happiness welling up in his chest. "i think that's a surefire way to know that they've accepted you, chris."

his friend's features went from confused to elated in a heartbeat, and he bent down to pet the animals on their heads. tucking the flower behind his ear, he said, "thank you all so much for this! i promise you, i will never  _ever_  do anything to hurt jeongin in any way. you can count on me to take good care of him."

changbin snorted.  _he sounds like someone who is meeting their boyfriend's family for the first time._

jeongin giggled. "well, it could happen— i'm just kidding!" he quickly spoke when he received a sharp glare from the mouse in return.

_kid, as long as i'm around, don't even think about trying to get yourself a significant other of any kind._

"fine, fine. sorry, dad."

but deep down, jeongin knew that was easier said than done.  
  



End file.
